Category Archives: Photographers’ Lecture Series

Stillmotion Filmmakers Inspire Students to Chase their Dreams

As a rule, Patrick and Amina Moreau always let their curiosity get the better of them.

The founders of Stillmotion, a Toronto and San Francisco based company, the Moreaus visited The Williston Northampton School campus on Tuesday, September 25 as the first speakers in this year’s Photographers’ Lecture Series.  During their visit, which was made possible by the Canon Explorer of Light program, the pair spoke about the importance of, and difference between, affect and effect in their work.

“What we’re really talking about here with affect versus effect is having some kind of emotional quality or purpose rather than just making something look cool,” said Patrick.

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Photographer of His Time: Sam Abell at Williston

“Something is wrong with this picture,” Sam Abell said to his audience on May 9, during the final Photographers’ Lecture Series of the 2012-11 season.

Projected on the screen in the darkened Dodge Room was a photograph of two coffee cups on a tray and a glass of water. What was wrong? The audience strained to see.

Then the next slide appeared. Abell had turned the handle of a coffee mug, ever so slightly, to create a sliver of space between it and the shadow cast by the water.

Such small details have obsessed Abell throughout his long and illustrious career as a documentary photographer and on in-depth projects for National Geographic. As he noted in his artist’s statement, Abell “explores ways in which places can be purely recorded, with images simultaneously shaped by the photographer’s imagination.”

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Heisler Teaches Photo Students Valuable Lesson

“I don’t know how to explain how fun it is,” said photographer Gregory Heisler of his career choice.  “It’s super duper fun.”

Photo Courtesy of Greg Heisler, Portrait by Maja Jutanda

Clad in a bow tie and round glasses, Heisler, currently the artist-in-residence at the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls, MA, addressed the Advanced Photography students as the penultimate lecturer in the 2011-2012 Photographers’ Lecture Series on Tuesday, April 24.

Heisler’s range of work includes advertisements for clients such as American Express and Nike, and privately commissioned portraits of subjects including Bruce Springsteen and New York City Mayor Edward Koch.

A veteran photographer, Heisler gave an animated anatomy of a photo shoot, using as an example a recent shoot with Lebron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade he had done for Sports Illustrated.

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Sam Abell Closes Out 2011-2012 Photographers’ Lecture Series

Photo courtesy of Sam Abell

National Geographic Photographer, Sam Abell will visit The Williston Northampton School on Wednesday, May 9 as the final photographer in the 2011-2012 Photographers’ Lecture Series.

Mr. Abell will teach an Advanced Photography class and give a lecture, which is open and free to the public, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center.

According to his website, Mr. Abell’s photographic life began at a very young age.  In high school in Sylvania, OH and later at the University of Kentucky, he was the editor and photographer for the schools’ yearbooks.

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Portrait Lessons with Susan Falzone

Susan Falzone led a procession of Williston Northampton photography students into the lower floor of the Reed Campus Center. She picked the dimmest corner she could find to set up the equipment: a softbox flash and a white and gold reflector.

“Lift it up, down, use the fill, don’t use the fill,” Falzone said, adjusting the reflector and the light. “Just experiment a little bit.”

Falzone, a documentary and portrait photographer based in New York City, was on campus for Williston Northampton’s ongoing Photographers’ Lecture Series and for some one-on-one time with students.

See the full gallery.

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